Bucks' Bobby Portis Makes Doc Rivers Admission After Coaching Change
The Milwaukee Bucks have one of the NBA's biggest stars in forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, but that didn't help them get far in the 2025-26 campaign. They finished 32-50, 11 games behind the Miami Heat for the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference, which is the last play-in spot.
The Bucks now need to find a head coach after Doc Rivers stepped down on Sunday. The 2008 NBA champion took over during the 2023-24 campaign, when the squad finished third in the East at 49-33 before losing to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs. It then finished fifth at 48-34 last season before losing to the Pacers in the first round again.
Forward Bobby Portis called Rivers' departure "awkward," via "Run It Back" on FanDuel TV.
"I got the news when everybody else got the news. The game ended on Sunday [Bucks' 126-106 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers], and I got on Bus One," the 31-year-old said. "Normally, I'm always on Bus Three, but it's the last game of the year, I'm ready to get back to the crib...Decompress from the season. It's been an up-and-down rollercoaster...About five minutes on the bus, the news came through. It was very shocking that it happened so fast, we ain't even left Philly yet...I don't even know where he was at. It was just kind of awkward."
"The season just ended. Most of the time, things happen the next day, or a couple days after that," he continued. "I think it was kind of awkward for us that it happened at that moment."
Bobby Portis didn't know Doc Rivers was done as Bucks HC until everyone else did
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 14, 2026
Bobby says there was no goodbye speech:
"I don't even know where he was at. It was awkward."@BPortistime | @MichelleDBeadle | @ChandlerParsons | @TeamLou23pic.twitter.com/dW4wnefYV2
Bucks Must Reset After Turbulent Campaign
Milwaukee's supporting cast around Antetokounmpo progressively declined since the squad won the 2021 NBA Finals, and that came to a head this season. The 31-year-old played just 36 games due to injury, while second-leading scorer Kevin Porter Jr. played just 38. That left Portis, guard Ryan Rollins, forward Kyle Kuzma, center Myles Turner, guard AJ Green, and guard Gary Trent Jr. as the main contributors.
That group wasn't good enough to carry the Bucks in Antetokounmpo and Porter's absences, and there's no reason to continue with the same core moving forward. Antetokounmpo has one more year on his contract before a $62.7 million player option for the 2027-28 campaign, and it would be best to kickstart their rebuild by trading him for assets before he possibly walks for nothing in return.
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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 12:04 PM.